GP4: fongu revisits 2020... and here's why

Recently I've been revisiting 2020. I know, I know, who in their right mind would want to revisit that year, we've all expunged it from our memories, I'm sure. But why am I going back to it? 

Well the F1 season was quite interesting, a bit different from the norm. Sure Lewis romped off to an easy championship, his last to date, but there were plenty of other things going on too. From remote controlled trophy celebrations, to the introduction of weird names for Grand Prix, to the crazy low grip asphalt at the Turkish GP that left the cars incredibly dirty in the rain, to that massive crash at Mugello and Grosjean's lucky escape in Bahrain. There was Perez's first win, Russell's debut in the Mercedes, Hulkenberg's great substitute drives and many other great stories. 

So I'm only revisiting 2020 in an F1 perspective, specifically modding 2020 content in GP4. I enjoy the mod, because the F1 calendar that year was interesting, a change from the same old tracks in the same old order. Mugello, the Nurburgring, the Algarve track, Istanbul and the outer track in Bahrain. It was also a 17 race calender, perfect for GP4! 

Back in 2020 and early 2021, I had released the Ferrari SF1000 and I had also released the 2021 Aston Martin livery on the 2020 Racing Point RP20. So I've gone back and given these existing cars in my back catalogue and added some new liveries. I've also backdated my Williams and Mercedes, as well as tackling the Red Bull car too. So there's basically half the 2020 grid updated here with new(ish) cars. 

Here's the details.

2020 Ferrari SF1000 - Tuscan GP livery

2020 Ferrari SF1000 - Tuscan GP livery by fongu

I decided to make the Tuscan GP livery on my version of the Ferrari and I wanted it to be more burgundy. Back then, I was a bit aggressive in my alpha channel editing and I've since toned that down and have been a bit more nuanced in creating them. I'm quite happy with the overall result and I'm very happy to share it with you. 

But the cars didn't look quite right, the 1000th GP for Ferrari deserves a better tribute. They needed the helmets to go with it. And boy did I regret that decision, because these were some difficult helmets to recreate. But I'm happy with the result, let's dive in to a bit more detail. 

Charles Leclerc's 2020 Tuscan GP helmet by fongu

Charles Leclerc's helmet, designed by Adrien Paviot, had a special livery for his Bell helmet. The helmet features the World Champions with paintings of each appearing on his helmet. Ascari, Hawthorn, Fangio, Phil Hill and John Surtees from the original era. Then there was Lauda and Scheckter from the 70s, through to Schumacher and Raikkonen from the early noughties. Then there's also the portrait of the man himself, Enzo Ferrari, in his trademark sunglasses appearing prominently on the top. 

Sebastian Vettel's 2020 Tuscan GP helmet by fongu

This helmet is more of a tribute than an accurate recreation of Seb's Arai helmet for the Tuscan GP. The helmet is split in two, the vintage side and the modern side, beautifully done by Jens Munser Designs. There's not a whole lot of photos around of this one, and there's a lack of replicas and models of it. I love the vintage side, with the creamy white strip on the top, the 'tea-stained' blueprint paper, and various technical scribbles and a blueprint of the Ferrari 325. Like I say, this is my version of it, rather than an accurate replica of JMD's one. I love the split, the original Ferrari logo, and JMD's hand written logo instead of his printed one. Then there's the modern side, with a more vibrant German flag, the glittery highlights, and of course the wireframe of my SF1000. The car is simply my car above with a screenshot taken from Zmodeler. 

As ever, thanks to Jvinu for his helmet shapes, templates and his original 2020 helmets guiding the contours of my version. Of course, this means the helmets are compatible with ASCPRH v1. 

2020 Racing Point RP20

2020 Racing Point RP20 by fongu

Racing Point took a massive risk in 2020. It was the (theoretical) final year of the current rule set, and similar to the 2025 season, most teams simply went for an evolution of their 2019 cars, concentrating their efforts on the new rules. But Racing Point went completely different, and instead went and made a copy of the Championship winning car. The 'pink Mercedes' plan worked for the large part, the team ran competitively, even running 1-2 during the Turkish GP, with Perez taking his first victory in Bahrain. 

I actually quite liked this version of the pink livery, the BWT lettering boldly emblazened across the engine cover and sidepods seamlessly. But due to the mapping of the car, I had to do some adjustments to the logos to make the result look right on the track. In fact, I hand drew the BWT logos, as well as on the front and rear wings. 

I've included Hulkenberg's number 27 car in this pack for his two stand-in races for the team, once for Perez, the other for Stroll. 

2020 Red Bull RB16

2020 Red Bull RB20 by fongu

This car is based off the work by Hega and Excalibur's 2021 RB16B and it's basically been restored to its 2020 version. I'm glad their liveries don't change much, year on year, so the textures are largely interchangeable. The textures on this car are made from scratch, but it helped alot to have a reference. I like the high rake on the car, the most aggressive in the field, contrasting with the pretty horizontal Mercedes and Racing Points cars.

Whilst the car was not as competitive as its successor, which won the championship, the signs of growing competitiveness were there, with Max taking two victories. Sadly, Albon struggled, but not without glimpses of his talent on show, it just wasn't particularly consistent nor frequent enough. Thankfully, it did not kill his F1 career.

2020 Williams FW43

2020 Williams FW43 by fongu

2020 was an important one for the Williams team, because the Williams family sold the team to Dorilton Capital, clearing their debts, and ushering in some needed new management and fresh capital. After three consecutive seasons of finishing last in the Constructors' Championship, 2021 saw the team start to become more competitive, and despite a dip in performance in 2022, the team have continued to progress since. 

I went back and looked at my 2021 Williams and I pleasantly remembered some of the really nice details I put into that car. However, that car did start its life as the 2020 FW43 and I found an older version that I could adapt for a fully fledged 2020 car. 

Although I did not bother with the launch livery, this car comes with three liveries. There is the early season livery, plus a version with 'thank you NHS' (the British National Health Service), and then the late season livery which was used from the Eifel GP (yep, another stupid name for a GP) at the Nürburgring. It also includes Aitken's livery when they raced around the outer Sakhir track so I guess that makes it four liveries. 

2020 Mercedes AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance

2020 Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance by fongu

The all conquering Mercedes team would dominate the 2020 season, but it would be their last, as the 2021 season will see a titanic battle for the Championship with Red Bull. This is the introduction to the first black Mercedes, thanks to the influence of Hamilton and their response to the hot topic agendas going on at that time. 

In terms of the GP4 car, this is largely based on my 2021 car, although some of the work was initially done by Isaint. The repetitive Mercedes badges across the engine cover, with five different sizes, took a lot of patience and perseverance but I'm really pleased with the overall result. There is also the number 63 car of George Russell included as well. 

I hope you like these cars and helmets, and our little trip down memory lane, but I hope you enjoy these new cars and helmets. 

*** edit *** 

v1.1 fixed missing Ferrari texture 

v1.2 fixed missing Hulkenberg's texture. 

please re-download the pack below. Thanks.